Barcelona, which rose to second on this year's edition of Forbes' ranking of the world's most valuable sports clubs with a value of $3.2B, "has grown more than any other club in recent years," according to Javier Gascón of MUNDO DEPORTIVO. The club has jumped from 24th on the list in '10 to "2nd this year." Since '10, Forbes ranked Barça 26th in '11, 8th in '12 and 3rd in '13. Year after year, "the club is also reducing its distance from first place," as it trailed No. 1-ranked Real Madrid by just €240M ($321M) this year. The "inertia of the market could very soon help Barcelona lead Forbes' list." Barcelona VP Javier Faus "gave a positive evaluation of the market inflation provoked by astronomic recent agreements" like adidas' with ManU. ManU, third on this year's list, will "increase its financial strength," but like Real, "ManU's big contracts" -- with Chevrolet and Aon -- are already signed and "cannot be improved." Real renewed its kit deal with adidas in '12, extending the partnership through '20. Real's shirt deal with Fly Emirates is worth €25M ($33.4M) annually through '18. With ManU and Serie A side Juventus signing deals with adidas and Arsenal partnering with Puma, Barcelona "is now Nike's flagship." Barcelona's kit deal with Nike, signed in '07 and running through '18, is worth €30M ($40M) per year. The club's shirt deal with Qatar Airways expires in '16, with "an advantage for Barcelona being the fact that the club has other strong, interesting proposals" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 8/5).
